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Do you use religious terms sprinkled throughout our language?

In the past, people confronted me with the supposition that if I use expressions which use religious references, I am not agnostic. I disagree, and wrote a FB post about it at the time.

Which of these expressions do you hesitate to use, assuming they fit your dialect? Which do you use by accident?

Bless you, after a sneeze
Bless you, to indicate good will
Jesus Christ, as an expression of frustration
Jesus fucking Christ, if you swear in other circumstances
God damn you
Dammit
Go to Hell
God knows, as in no one knows
Heaven on earth, or seventh heaven
Heavens, as an expression of surprise
Thank God, as an expression of relief
Oh my God, as expression of surprise

Are there any other phrases in the dialect you share, which you avoid or try to avoid?

LionMousePudding 6 Aug 10
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79 comments (76 - 79)

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0

I use most of them that you mentioned, and at one time was upset with myself for hanging on to them. After a while though, I realized that they are just words, and not literal. I might also say Kiss my ass, Go fuck yourself, stupid bitch/dickhead/asshole, etc. They are just expressions I was raised with which express emotions or meaning. Granted, I may used expletives more often than I should, but I don't think I'm promoting religion by saying such things.

2

I would add “Jesus, Fuck!” as one I use. Have been know to use “Oh, god” to indicate pleasure, and “God-daaaaaamn” upon seeing someone really hot.

UUNJ Level 8 Sep 11, 2018
0

Having written this question, and reading responses, I have really noticed of myself that I do use quite religious expressions. Having been raised with no religion (I only noticed I was not Christian when I was 12 and my friends were getting commencement gifts; in my town you were Christian unless proven Jewish; upon short contemplation I noticed I did not believe in God, so it all made sense), I certainly did not learn them at home. I do not think I learned them from a partner or location. I think I must have started ironically

I say things like "Lord have mercy (on my [poor] soul)" "Sweet mother of Jesus" "Heavens above" "Lord save us"

?????

1

Sure. It's just part of the shared cultural heritage. I don't use "I'll pray for you" because that personalizes it into an expression of personal religious belief. I might say "it's colder than a witch's tit" but that doesn't mean I believe in witchcraft or witches, or that in those who call themselves witches that there is some sort of thermal anomaly to their tits vs. the tits of the non-witches.

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